There’s an art of creating content specifically with children in mind. Like Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants, it could be fun or educational, like Ludo Studio’s Bluey. These projects serve as safe entertainment for kids and adults while providing additional benefits for parents. However, while this benefit has become a “necessity” for parents, the rise of video content creation endangers how kids’ brains function.

Not The First Time

Worrying about what kids watch on the Internet isn’t new. As reported by The Verge on December 8th, 2017, a YouTube epidemic called “Elsagate” was about a series of seemingly innocent videos containing disturbing events. Prevalent characters like Spider-Man, Elsa, and Joker are playing out scenarios where they stab each other with needles, screaming, and poorly disguised degenerate activities. However, another massive issue arose with the birth of the next generation, with the rise of “iPad Babies.”

The Birth of “iPad Babies”

As the name suggests, iPad Babies are infants who have been given access to any portable device since birth. The rise of the so-called iPad Kids originates from the COVID-19 pandemic. The world had to adapt to doing everything indoors. Parents had to multi-task, working at home while caring for their newborns, who always craved attention. This results in parents relying on giving their babies iPads to distract them from bothering their parents from work.

Internet children’s content became popular, with channels like CoComelon gaining millions of views with each upload. Yet, what parents began relying on technology for their kids’ growth was their brain functionality. Susan Linn, the author behind “Consuming Kids,” explained to TIME’s Alana Semuels “How CoComelon Became a Children’s Entertainment Juggernaut.” Linn said, “…everything on the web is designed to be addictive. You’re setting up kids to start depending on screens for stimulation and soothing.”

The Signs of Young Addiction

This dependency is well-documented, such as in Vice’s article “iPad Kids Are Getting Out of Hand” by Eloise Hendy, which shares an anecdote that her acquaintance witnessed. Hendy recalled, “…my housemate saw her god-daughter spot a butterfly fluttering outside the window…Her god-daughter was trying to zoom in on the butterfly.” This behavior is almost dystopian, with the child believing that zooming in is just a part of reality. A toddler believes that any glass wall is a screen.

The next generation of kids seems to be doomed to be full of digital addiction. Always craving to get a hand of any piece of technology. But what can the next generation of parents learn from this? We must return to letting kids play with physical items such as shapes and toys they can mess around with. If anything, letting a kid use an iPad should mainly be used to pass the time. This way, kids from an early age learn not to depend on portable devices and see them as a special occasion rather than a necessity.

The Possibility Radicalization

This problem does not even touch on the potentially more significant issue when these kids get recommended videos that may promote problematic ideas and beliefs about our fellow human beings. Content with heavy alt-right ideals is prevalent on YouTube and easily accessed with clicks. It’s so easy that I’ve even run into videos that promote hate against women and transgender people. Some videos even talk about the “ideal body,” which flames the flames of the amount of sexism that could plague kids’ feeds on YouTube.

Thankfully, YouTube is also helping with this issue by improving its safeguards. They made sure that videos contained heavy idealizations of a person’s features, such as body image or type, while also discouraging videos with some level of aggression, even if it isn’t physically violent. YouTube also implements reminders for young people to take a break, which could motivate them to at least consider going out.

Parenting is a difficult job that has only gotten more difficult with the advent of the Internet. Now that our workplaces have opened up after years of recovery from COVID-19, kids must adapt to the absence of their guardians. Therefore, they’ll probably be more demanding when coping with anything with a screen. It may be depressing to witness a generation stuck to their technology from the moment they’re born and become either insecure or radicalized. However, it could serve as motivation to see the failures and push forward to raise a better generation.

Works Cited

Brandom, Russell, and Alex Castro. “Inside Elsagate, the conspiracy-fueled war on creepy YouTube kids videos.” The Verge, December 8th 2017, https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/8/16751206/elsagate-youtube-kids-creepy-conspiracy-theory. Accessed April 2nd, 2024.

Cadenas, Carlo, et al. “How CoComelon Became a Children’s Entertainment Juggernaut.” Time, March 16th 2022, https://time.com/6157797/cocomelon-success-children-entertainment/. Accessed April 4th, 2024.

Hendy, Eloise. “iPad Kids Are Getting Out of Hand.” VICE, November 21st 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/93k8kv/ipad-kids-gen-alpha-childhood-development. Accessed April 2nd, 2024.

Hutchinson, Andrew. “YouTube Adds New Safeguards and Alerts for Young Users.” Social Media Today, November 2nd 2023, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-adds-safeguards-alerts-young-users/698674/. Accessed May 14th 2024.